Maria Contou Christopher
March 12, 1933 - September 5, 2021
Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Maria Contou Christopher passed away Sunday, September 5 in Chapel Hill, NC. She was born in Geneva, Switzerland on March 12, 1933 to Katherine and Alcibiades Contou. She grew up in Athens, Greece, and after her marriage in 1954 to John Christopher immigrated to the United States.
Maria was a graduate of the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill with Phi Beta Kappa distinction. She was fluent in Greek, French and English and for many years taught French at Hillside High in Durham. After her retirement in 1992 she volunteered to teach Greek to local students. She was a woman of many interests and amazing energy. She was a gourmet cook and gathered her children and grandchildren for weekly meals. In true Greek fashion there were no less than 30 choices of dishes. Every inch of her yard was landscaped, and she enjoyed many hours digging in her yard and in John's epic garden which she took over after his death. She and her friend Charlotte McFall started a project to beautify the entrance to their neighborhood and planted beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers which line the street. They won a national award for their efforts. Her pride and joy (other than her grandchildren of course) was the beach house she and John built at Emerald Isle, and it gave her great pleasure to see the family enjoying time there.
Maria was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved husband. She is survived by her sister Eleni Contou Deftereos and her daughter Katherine "Tika" Barron (Mitch Barron), and her son Philip John Christopher (Caroline Christopher) and the grandchildren she so cherished Chris Barron, Scott Barron (Megan), Rachel Barron and Eleanor Christopher as well as nephews Elias Deftereos and Alkis Deftereos.
A memorial service will be planned for a later date.

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Published by The News & Observer on Sep. 8, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for Maria Christopher

Sponsored by Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill.

10 Entries

Mary Lee Kerr

September 12, 2022

I recently moved back to the area and was so sad to see that Mrs. Christopher had passed away. She was my French teacher at Hillside from 1975-1979 and was one of the best teachers I ever had. She was full of energy and enthusiasm for French language and culture, and for life in general. I felt she really cared about her students. She gave us individual attention and invited us over to her house for dinner. She inspired me to spend a summer in France at the age of 16 and to visit later in life. I'll never forget her. What a lovely person! She'll be missed by many, I'm sure. Condolences to her family.

Precious Stone

December 16, 2021

My condolences to the family of Maria Christopher. Mrs. Christopher was my French teacher at Hillside High School from 1979 to 1983. She taught me so much about French language, culture, and history. I'll always remember the dinners she hosted for French students at her home. She was kind and energetic and one of my favorite teachers. I went on to take many more French courses and studied and worked in France. The lessons she taught me resonated as I visited places she'd introduced me to through her classes. Over the years I have thought fondly of Mrs. Christopher. She was a very special person. Thank you for sharing her with so many students over the years. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Precious Stone -Hillside High School Class of 1982

Kathleen Stallings

September 11, 2021

Dear Phillip and Tika, Your Mom was one of the most extraordinary people that I have ever known. In addition to the many fine qualities already mentioned, she helped me through some of the most difficult periods of my life, and I will be forever grateful. I don't know what I would have done without her. I will miss her greatly.

Kas

Anna Battigelli

September 9, 2021

Maria Christopher was a gift to all who met her. She had a gift for creating beautiful things: flowers, food, paintings, homes, books, and many other treasures. Her smile boosted spirits-as did her humor. She is one of life´s treasures and will always be remembered with love.

Eddie Davis

September 9, 2021

Heartfelt sympathy and condolences are extended to the family and friends of Maria Christopher. We enjoyed the almost two decades of teaching experience that we shared with Maria at Durham's Hillside High School. She was a wonderful colleague and she had a unique way of relating to the students.

Her laughter was delightful.

Eddie & Harriette Davis
Durham, NC

Evy Glekas

September 9, 2021

I am so sorry to hear the bad news.
I have been teaching with Maria Greek School classes for years.
She was always a very generous and hard working person who wanted to pass knowledge to all her students and keep the Greek language alive in USA.
My warmest condolences to all her family. May her memory be eternal.
A .

Jane Provan

September 8, 2021

Maria was an inspiration with her vision and energy and love for plants and gardens in our neighborhood. She was enjoying her daily walks quite recently. I will miss her very much. I am glad she was able to stay in her home and with her beloved gardens. Much love and sympathy to all of her family

Alice Glover, Neighbor on Brigham Rd.

September 8, 2021

I will miss Maria! She took an old quilt and refurbished it for me. Maria did a beautiful job of stitching my son's name on his Christmas stocking. I have a selection of her recipes that she gave me in 2017 with the intention of making a cook book out of them. Probably true to form, she didn't want me to print the book until she had added, refined, illustrated the document. I still have the recipes in one word document if you'd like me to send it to you. What a wonderful, special woman!

Frauke Mirenda

Sent Flowers

Frauke Mirenda

September 7, 2021

Dear Tika and Philip, I am so sad to hear of the death of your wonderful mother- my heart goes out to you and your family. Your mom was always so kind to me; she was a lovely, lively, fabulous woman! She helped me create roses with rice for my wedding reception, some of which I still have and often think of her when I see them. It warms my heart that she and your dad were present for my wedding. I enjoyed reading her 'stories'!-so happy she shared them with me.
I am blessed to have known her. Love, Frauke

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